Measuring acute effects of subanesthetic ketamine on cerebrovascular hemodynamics in humans using TD-fNIRS.
Scientific reports July 19, 2023 Adelaida Castillo, Julien Dubois, Ryan M Field et al. 19 citations
Ketamine administration in healthy participants caused an altered state of consciousness and changes in systemic physiology, including increased pulse rate and electrodermal activity. The drug led to a brain-wide reduction in the fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuations and decreased global brain connectivity in the prefrontal region. Preliminary evidence suggests that a combination of neural and physiological metrics may predict subjective mystical experiences and reductions in depressive symptoms. The study demonstrates the successful use of fNIRS neuroimaging to measure physiological effects of ketamine in a clinical setting, representing a step toward larger clinical fNIRS studies of psychedelics.